Pinch-hit homer by Lewis lifts Shanahan past Unionville

UNIONVILLE—With two outs in the fifth inning and Bishop Shanahan trailing Unionville by a run, coach Ron Savastio looked to his bench for Gina Lewis, a player only recently called up from the junior varsity.

“Gina, you think you can get a hit in this game?” asked Savastio.

“Sure, I guess,” came the tentative response from Lewis.

Brought on to pinch-hit, Lewis’ answer with the bat was far more definitive, as she launched a a three-run blast over the center-field fence, giving her team, a lead it would never relinquish as the Eagles won going away, 11-6, in a Ches-Mont League contest Monday.

“I don’t know what the pitch was,” said Lewis. “I just saw it and tried to hit it. I was pretty surprised when the ball went over the fence. I thought I popped out. I’m really excited for the team. We have a lot of fun and I love them all.”

Lewis’ homer capped a five-run fifth and gave Shanahan an 8-6 advantage.

When all was said and done, the Eagles pounded out a whopping 16 hits on the day, led by a perfect 5-for-5 day from leadoff hitter Marissa Girodano. Kathleen Devaney, Bridget Magee and May Kate Prieto also had multi-hit games for the winners.

“We’ve been on a tough streak lately,” said Giordano. “I knew we had to start getting this going. As the leadoff hitter, it’s my job to get things going.”

Shanahan was helped along by a brilliant day with the glove from second baseman Kathleen Devaney, who sucked up ground balls like a vacuum cleaner, and displayed fantastic range.

“Their second baseman had an amazing day,” said Unionville coach Janelle Hadley of Devaney. “She probably robbed us of six or seven hits today, and at least a few runs.”

That kind of defense came as no surprise to Savastio, who frankly expects it from his middle infield.

“Kathleen had a terrific day with the glove,” said Savastio. “So did (shortstop) Marissa Giordano. Those two are giving me the kind of leadership we need to help these young pitchers grow.”

The Indians did get their share of hits early, plating five runs on nine hits over the first three innings. Five different players had two hits for the afternoon—leadoff hitter Mandy Hammond, Kate Mims, Elise Franconi, Casey Schoer, and Carly Nance.

“We did hit the ball pretty well for a while,” said Hadley. “But we never adjusted to that second pitcher.”

That second pitcher was Jenny Kempinksi, called in for duty after starter Nikki Keefe allowed a leadoff single in the bottom half of the third. Kempinksi gave her team the relief it was looking for, allowing just two hits and no runs over the final five innings of play.

“I try not to get caught up in the past when I pitch,” said Kempinksi. “So I didn’t really think much about the situation where I came in. I just focused on the game in front of me, and just tried to pitch my game.”

After the fateful fifth, Shanahan added another three runs in the sixth, this time helped along by three Indians errors. Unionville was charged with six miscues on the day.

“We’ve got to cut down on our outfield errors,” said Hadley. “I know this is not the best outfield around, but it’s our home field. We’ve got to know what we’re dealing with and at least keep the ball in front of us.”

After walking the leadoff hitter in the bottom of the seventh, Kempinski retired the final three hitters in order to close out the victory.

“Jenny pitched a nice game for us,” said Savastio. “The younger players came through for us. This was a nice win. I was sweating it there for a while, but we got it. We just have to try to keep it going.”